It is known in the art to protect the occupants of a vehicle with an inflated restraint commonly referred to as an airbag. The airbag is in fluid communication with an inflator, which when activated, rapidly inflates the airbag with an inflation fluid. Airbags have been in use for a number of years to protect the front occupants of a vehicle from impacting the steering wheel, dash and/or the windshield during a front impact incident. And, airbags have recently been utilized to protect the occupants striking the side of the vehicle during side-impact and/or roll-over episodes. For side-impact or roll-over airbags, the airbag is stored, either in the seat, in the side pillar, or in proximate the conjunction of the headliner and the side panel of the vehicle in a deflated, and often folded, condition. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,332 issued to Wipasuramonton on Jun. 25, 1996, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,460 issued to Wipasuramonton on Jul. 30, 1996, each disclose a side-impact airbag which is inflatable into a position between a vehicle occupant and the side structure of a vehicle.
Due to the configuration and placement of the seat belts in certain vehicles, it may be desirable to allow the seat belt to pass through an opening in the airbag. However, upon deployment of the airbag, the airbag can bind and become ensnared by the seat belt. Also, it is desirable to limit the displacement of the sides from each other during expansion. Further, those skilled in the art recognize that upon expansion a large amount of stress is placed upon the sealed edges of the airbag leading to potential rupture and failure of the airbag.
What has heretofore been missing from the art is a roll-over self-inflating restraint that is configured to allow a shoulder belt to pass through an opening in the airbag and maintain a uniform opening to prevent the airbag from binding on the seat belt; that has a series of internal tethers specifically designed to limit the displacement of the sides from one another during expansion; and that has perimetrically reinforced sealed edges.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a roll-over airbag that has a specially configured opening to allow a shoulder belt to pass through an opening in the airbag and that maintains a uniform size to prevent the airbag from binding on the seat belt during expansion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a roll-over that has a series of internal, reinforced tethers specifically designed to limit the displacement of the sides from one another during expansion.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a roll-over airbag that has perimetrically reinforced sealed edges.
Other objects and advantages over the prior art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the detailed description together with the drawings as described as follows.